CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The Horry County Police Department is looking to give women a chance to learn self-defense and rape aggression tactics through a new training class.
Officer Tysheena May with the police department recently gave a presentation about her self-defense training, and she’s looking to open it up to women in the county. May said statistics show by the time women are 18, three in four will have been sexually assaulted. “Many women have no idea how to react if they were being approached by an attacker,” said May.
The training will follow the Rape Aggression Defense program, also known as RAD. The class will consist of 12 total hours of instruction, broken down into four Saturday sessions. “If we can put the foundation there to help teach women, give them that confidence, and empower them to protect themselves, that’s what we want to do.”
May said women will learn different strategies to escape an attacker, but they will also learn how to minimize the chances of being in a dangerous situation altogether. “The number one defense mechanism in not being attacked is awareness,” said May. “One of the things we all do, and I’m guilty of it myself, is walking in the mall and looking at our cell phone, so it’s the little things you can do to help not make yourself a target.”
She said the department is still in the early stages of planning, so they will make public announcements when the classes are available for sign up. Spokeswoman for the police department, Krystal Dotson, said the department is open to hosting the classes wherever would be most beneficial to the people enrolled, and the class will be free for anyone participating.